Pushing Forward
by 120shadowlev27
Summary: A Bond of the Heart and Hand Part 5. Slight AU. After Ed's recklessness almost gets him butchered by Barry, Mustang decides to impart some logic into his charge. WARNING: contains spanking of child/teen.


A Bond of the Heart and Hand Part 5

This is a slight AU that follows the same plot line as the FMA, but with the alteration that Roy Mustang regularly administers spankings to Edward out of care.  
>WARNING: If you have issues with the spanking of a childteenager, then do not read. This has nothing to do with sex, but with the parental administration of discipline that would have been both timely to the era and helpful to the kid. I don't condone spanking as a punishment for children in real life, but I don't really see Ed completely as a child, even if he's twelve. Again, if you have issues with this, do not read it.

Takes place after The Philosopher's Stone, when Ed escapes Barry the Butcher.

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><p>Mustang shook his head, rubbing his temples against his inner anger and frustration with his half-subordinate and half-charge. He had an adequate grasp on the boy's efforts the majority of the time and could judge the kid's ability to handle tricky situations. He and Ed walked a fine line of orders and disobedience where the majority of the major orders could be ignored in line with benefiting the view of the State Alchemists and with achieving both State goals and their own personal ones. However, he did have a few orders that he and Ed both knew were meant to be enforced. The boy's refusal to ask for help or communicate in the slightest even when the situation was dire was one of them. It didn't even matter that Ed wasn't an employed State Alchemist at the time. It mattered that he was one of Mustang's and Ed knew the rules.<p>

Now, here sat the boy in question, shuddering and terrified from his brush with a serial killer. He curled up next to his metal brother, seeking whatever comfort he could from the non-flesh. The brick alleyway glowed in infernal light. Mustang exchanged eye contact with Hughes, who gave him the go ahead that the situation was under control. Mustang nodded and strode over to the huddled prodigy.

"Edward, I believe we have matters to discuss in my quarters," He said quietly. Terrified and burdened glowing gold eyes stared up at him. He offered a leather glove and clasped the hand to pull up the boy. Metal clinked under his fingers. Al looked up at Mustang with glowing eyes heavy with understanding. Mortal bodies came with mortal necessities and mortal feelings that required mortal assuagements. The golden boy tucked himself under comfortingly heavy navy clothed arm and allowed himself to be led out of the ring. Al remained to talk to their blond visitor and aid the investigation. Good, Roy thought, he and Ed needed some time alone. He suspected they had a lot of problems to work out.

The apartment was quiet with stillness and tranquility. Roy led Ed to his den. Bookshelves inhabited all of the walls and a black leather couch stood guard in front of the main section. A small armchair in the corner allowed for more studious reading, and his desk in the opposite corner allowed for some after hour work to be completed. What Mustang wanted was the first aid box inside of the bottom cupboard. He turned on the lights and turned Ed to face him in order to peel off the jacket covering his wound.

Blood that had begun to coagulate stuck the jacket to the pale skin and the wound, but the only reaction he got from Ed was a grimace. Peeling off the black sleeveless suit underneath was more tricky. Some of the frayed edges of the slice had mixed into the wound. When Mustang began to pull the fibers out, the boy's legs began to shudder. With a soft look, he urged Ed to sit on the coffee table while he retrieved hot water and sat on the couch opposite of him.

Softening the scabs allowed the shirt to come off easier. Ed stayed still and didn't protest being cared for, leaning into the human contact. Mustang used his gloveless right hand to treat the wound. He briefly ran the washcloth over the blood streaks down Ed's pale torso, mopping off the majority of the blood. Mustang patted him off with a dry towel and pulled a clean shirt over his head. It was a couple sizes too big, but it was more for warmth than anything. Ed didn't look into his eyes the entire time.

"Why do you care about what happens to me," he finally asked in his low, husky voice, "I quit. I'm done with your work. I didn't take the case you wanted me to and I gave up my watch. You shouldn't give a shit about what happens to some stupid kid like me."

Mustang restrained himself from starting right away. The kid's had some serious hurting lately and no real help from the state. He was mixed up about a lot of things.

"First off Edward, you know that our bond is not something based on your pocket watch and ability to obey orders," Mustang murmured, "You know that. I care about you regardless of who employs you and I do give a shit about you. Because of that, I need to be sure you aren't going to injure yourself because of stupidity or guilt. That's what we are going to try to fix here."

With a swift movement, Mustang grabbed the boy about the shoulders and pulled him facedown over his lap, one arm securely behind his back. The boy yelped and squirmed. Mustang adjusted his position so he wasn't straining the wound on Ed's shoulder, then carefully adjusted the boy's position over his knees. He had learned from experience to tilt the boy over one knee, secure the other two with his other leg, and let the boy's head rest on the couch. He clipped the small disrupter to the metal arm to disable it. Enabling it again was harmless to Ed, but having the arm on proved to be destructive. Without the use of his mechanical arm and leg, Ed was just a vulnerable little boy, shuddering in terror.

"You know I only do this to help you, Edward," Mustang murmured softly, unclasping the struggling boy's trousers and letting them fall with his britches to his knees. The shirt fell down his back, exposing the lower back and providing no obstruction. Edward began to wriggle more frantically from exposure, his pale bottom trying to escape in any way possible.

"Please," Edward begged cursory, because he had to, because his pride wouldn't permit him to not, "Don't, please,"

Mustang rested his ungloved hand on the boy's rump, tallying the boy's wrongs in his mind. A few bruises remained from the State's punishment of the boy, but most had faded in the week. Mustang still fumed at the memory, but put it aside.

"Edward, why am I going to spank you?" Mustang offered, trying the boy to see if he could go easy on him.

"Because you're a sadist, jerkoff," Ed hissed sharply, kicking up his struggles. He hated when Mustang talked before the spanking, and right after he was all exposed and vulnerable. Mustang sighed and gave him a hard swat. The impact jerked the blond boy into the real world.

"I see we're going to have a long session tonight, my dear boy," Mustang murmured and began to apply regular swats all around the young bottom. Edward shuddered and kept kicking, biting off insults left and right. Mustang found this part somewhat amusing and kept heating up the behind before him.

Edward eventually gave up his struggles and grew very tense and very silent, a sign he was trying to power through it. At this point, Mustang knew that speech was needed to break through the pain love barrier or Ed would just file it under necessary pains and not learn from it.

"You know that I care for you, that Al cares for you, that Hughes and Winry and her grandmother all care for you. You know that I spank you because I couldn't bear the thought that not spanking you would lead to you getting killed. Your recklessness or drive to self-punishment would lead you to getting seriously injured. Right now, you're safe. You don't have to be the grown up and punish yourself any longer. Just give up the fight to be strong and be a kid right now," Mustang murmured softly, black eyes soft in the relative calm of den. The tension began to ease out of Ed's body and the face pressed against the black leather sofa let out some soft sobs.

Mustang kept up his spanking until the soft sobs broke out to full fledged tears. He slowed his pace down, mindful of the reddened skin and the knowledge that this was going to be a long one. He rested his hand on the warm skin when shoulders shook under inner torment. He wasn't finished, but they could talk now.

"Edward," Mustang whispered softly.

"Muss-tag," Edward gasped out, "I-mmm soorrry," his crying drew out the apology into a hard effort.

"Do you know what for?" Mustang asked quietly. Edward shuddered and pressed his face deeper into the couch. With a sigh, Mustang delivered a sharp spank to the red bottom. The blond jumped.

"I-ssssuh, I should've told someone 'bout the truck 'fore runnin' off," Ed sobbed, "I coulda, coulda died 'fore Al and Hughes found me. I coulda...coulda DIED!" with a harsh yelp, Ed broke down completely into terrified and hysterical sobs. Mustang abruptly righted Ed in his lap. Ed yelped in confusion as he was hugged, but clung to the contact desperately.

"We aren't done, my boy, but we can finish after this," Mustang murmured, clutching the small boy to him. He was always surprised by how small the kid was, because when he was acting as an alchemist he always seemed so adult, but this was really just a boy, a boy as afraid of death as anyone else, and perhaps even more so. With that thought, the black haired soldier hugged the boy-soldier closer and murmured, "You aren't dead. We got you out of that mess. You're safe now, ok?"

"Uh-huh," Ed sobbed out, and his crying quieted back to its painful tears as he felt the comfort of the embrace seep into him and relieve some of his leftover terror. Mustang gave him a final squeeze before pressing him back down for more of this painful session. He heated up the bottom before him with a couple dozen hot spanks, raising the sobs back up to the level.

"You aren't done, my boy, there is something else that you are being spanked for," Mustang murmured. With a cry, Ed began struggling again.

"I cahn- I can't when you're spanking me," Ed sobbed, wriggling his unbearably hurting bottom back and forth.

"I believe you can," Mustang murmured, and lifted his knee, spanking the tender undercurve of the boy's bottom. Ed yelped and struggled more frantically.

"OK OK, I CAN I CAN," Ed begged, and Mustang lowered his knee again, resuming his spanks to the reddened skin of the Edward's pale bottom, which was little better.

"I, ow, I put the dead 'fore the living!" Edward yelped, the pain making him frantic, "I tried revenge and not help Al or the research and I made a mistake again cuz I'm an idiot!"

Mustang had been about to end this recent rapid fire on the boy's hindquarters, but the last comment made him raise his knee instead. He peppered the undercurve again, bringing bright red splotches to the tenderest spot and making Ed howl like something burned.

"What did I say about being self-depreciatory?" Mustang asked, speeding up and strengthening his blows to make the point. Ed bucked and writhed, but there was no escaping from that iron grip and the utter control of the elder.

"I-S, I SORRY!" Edward shouted out, massive sobs pouring out from him. Mustang lowered his knee and slowed his pace to just punctuate every few seconds. The boy seemed drained now and was reaching the end of his limits. Every slap served to draw a small yelp out from exhausted sobbing.

"Let me organize that last thought for you, without the self depreciation," Mustang murmured, "You focused too much on the death of someone that you can not control again, causing you to lose sight of your primary directive of returning your brother to his body, repeating the scenario that led you to lose your limbs in the first place."

"Yesssss," Edward murmured, his shoulders bulged.

"Is there anything else?" Mustang asked. Edward nodded softly. Mustang recalculated. He had thought that this would be the end. Perhaps he would have to make this a two part affair.

"I hurt my brother," the voice that came out was full of vulnerability and fear, "I don't know if he hates me. I put him in that body and I wonder if he hates me."

"That's not something that needs punishment," Mustang murmured, resting his hand on the bright red bottom of his broken charge. They were in fact done. He reached down and flipped on the switch for the boy's arm. It went up to wrap around the face, to try to conceal the shame and guilt. Mustang gathered him up in his arms, careful to balance the sensitive skin above his thighs. Edward wrapped his arms around the soldier and sobbed in anguish.

"Edward, you have been forgiven for your wrongs of the previous days, you can relax," Mustang murmured, cradling the anguished teen.

"How, how can I know if Al hates me?" Edward asked in a scared voice. Mustang chuckled.

"You can ask him, and I doubt that his answer will be yes, he loves you too much," he reassured.

"I don't see how, it was my fault that he's in there, that he doesn't feel mortal feelings, and I prolonged that with my own stupid quest and stupid, stupid, ACK!" he yelped as his tender bottom was smacked again. With a shudder, he burrowed his face into Mustang's shoulder again.

"I told you that you are forgiven, unless you want I should continue?" Mustang asked, and made as if to turn the boy back over his knee. Edward shook his head and clung to him. His bottom throbbed in anguish. He only ever cried from these spankings, only ever felt forgiven because of them.

When Edward's sobs lost their fervor and he started to droop in Mustang's arms, the soldier shifted him to the couch and yanked the boxers and trousers the rest of the way off, pulling the boots off with them. The shirt covered the boy's modesty as did the blanket that was spread over him.

"Hey Mustang," Edward murmured softly. He looked over at the sleepy golden eyes, now more relaxed than they'd been in the past week.

"Hmm?" He hummed inquisitively, finishing packing up the first aid kit.

"Thank you," the blond murmured and curled in on himself, into the side of the couch. Mustang smiled.

"You're welcome."

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><p>Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed it, please tell me so.<p> 


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